Bail doubt

Judge Lee Rosenthal's decision provides 193 pages of reasons for the county to settle.

Copyright 2017: Houston Chronicle

May 2, 2017

Photo: Contributed Photo

(Fotolia)

(Fotolia)

What's the difference between ignorance and apathy?

At the Harris County Criminal Justice Center, not very much.

Our courts are run by people who don't know whether the current bail system works, and frankly don't care, as Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal exposes in her 193-page memorandum and opinion in ODonnell v. Harris County, which was released Friday.

This stunning ruling documents a bail system overseen by politicians who don't track basic statistics, judges who rely on gut instinct more than objective studies to determine bail policy, and hearing officers who set unaffordable bail for low-level offenses because it "makes me feel better." Every page points to a cruel and indifferent system that detains the poor in violation of the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of due process. Rosenthal's order to temporarily shutter the system should be argument enough for County Judge Ed Emmett and County Commissioners Jack Mormon, Steve Radack and Jack Cagle, all Republicans, to settle the case. Any other option would continue to waste taxpayers dollars in the ignoble defense of keeping minor offenders behind bars.

The practice of law may be a white-collar profession, but our low-level criminal courts function more like an industrial production line. Hearing officers and county judges rush to keep people moving through the process, desperate to avoid a backup in an overcrowded and out-of-date jail system.

Driving without a license, failing to identify to a police officer, trespassing, shoplifting - these are the misdemeanor-level crimes in question. Bail exists to ensure that those unfortunate arrestees - innocent until proven guilty - can return to their normal lives while awaiting trial. Expensive bail is reserved for flight risks and dangerous suspects. In Harris County, however, judges and hearing officers have distorted our bail system to become unaffordable for the poorest among us. The bail bondsmen, who make regular campaign contributions, seem to like it.

Four Democratic officials holding county office have called for their colleagues to settle the case and reform our bail system. County Attorney Vince Ryan, another Democrat, should join their ranks. Ryan is supposed to be the county's lawyer in this matter, but so far has remained silent while allowing the Republican-run Commissioners Court to dictate his job. They've already budgeted money to hire outside counsel for an appeal to Rosenthal's order. Ryan needs to draw a line in the sand and refuse to play along with the commissioners' appellate ambitions.

"Twenty years ago, not quite one-third of [Texas's] jail population was awaiting trial. Now the number is three-fourths. Liberty is precious to Americans, and any deprivation must be scrutinized."

That's how Rosenthal begins her opinion, but the words are not hers. She's quoting Nathan L. Hecht, the Republican Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court in a February speech before the Texas Legislature.

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